UofG Centre for Public Policy

15 April 2026: In this third episode of our election podcast series, we meet today to discuss the rise of the right, speaking to Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, and two researchers with expertise in radical right populism, Dr Judith Sijstermans and Dr Pontus Odmalm.

This week we’re looking at the rise of the right in Scotland. We're seeing Reform UK emerge in Scotland as a serious contender one that is likely to see a sizeable number of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament.

In this episode, we explore:

• What’s driving the rise of parties like Reform UK?
• What can we learn from similar parties elsewhere?
• And what are the implications for public policy more generally?

First up we talk to Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, an independent, non-partisan thinktank, engaging people’s hopes and fears about integration and immigration, identity and race, and former journalist.

Then we're joined by two academic experts with extensive knowledge of radical right populism here and abroad, Dr Judith Sijstermans from the University of Aberdeen and Dr Pontus Odmalm from the University of Edinburgh.

Listen

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First published: 15 April 2026